Volunteer From Home
Your help can take many forms
Not everyone who wants to help cats and dogs is available to volunteer in our shelter. But there are lots of opportunities to contribute your time and talents. You have the power to make dogs and cats more comfortable, find them new homes, and stem the overpopulation of cats.
Sewing
Even those with basic knowledge of sewing can construct items that are needed to make our cats and dogs feel more comfortable and secure. Most projects can be sewn with such readily available materials as secondhand (but in good condition) sheets, blankets, and even towels. Especially needed are curtains for cage and kennel doors, covers for cat traps, and fitted covers for the Kuranda beds in our cat rooms. Instructions are here:
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Click HERE for a PDF for dog kennel curtains, or click the link below for curtains that can be made shorter for cats and longer for dogs:
​UC Davis Partial Kennel Cover: https://www.sheltermedicine.com/library/resources/how-to-make-partial-cage-covers-aka-curtailments?platform=hootsuite
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Click HERE for a PDF of feral cat trap covers, or click one of the links below:
​Shollars' 36" feral cat trap cover: https://www.instructables.com/Cat-Trap-Cover/
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All sizes feral cat trap cover: https://www.instructables.com/How-to-Measure-a-Tnr-Trap-Make-a-Sewing-Pattern-an/
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​​Click HERE for a PDF of Kuranda bed covers, or click the link below:
​Arpie's cat Kurunda House: https://www.instructables.com/Arpies-Cat-Kuranda-House/
Conduct a fundraiser for APL
Individuals and groups are encouraged to hold fundraisers benefiting cats and dogs. See the guidelines here.
Organize a supply drive
Organize a supply drive at your workplace, business, or club to provide needed items (food, toys, and other essentials) for cats and dogs. Be sure to take a photo. It could appear in one of our publications.
Take dogs to offsite adoption events
Taking an APL dog to an adoption event is a wonderful way to help! Most events are on weekends, and even a couple of hours of your time will make a big difference in a dog’s life. The more people a dog is introduced to, the more likely he’ll be adopted. Take a shelter dog that you are comfortable with, walk around or sit and relax, and talk to people about the dog (and what APL does. Those outings also benefit dogs by giving them a break from the shelter, devoting your attention to them one-on-one, and providing opportunities for socializing.
Trap feral cats for spay/neuter
You can improve the lives of stray and feral "community" cats by ensuring outdoor cats in your neighborhood are spayed and neutered, or by volunteering with APL to help others catch and sterilize cats in their neighborhoods. Also known as trap, neuter, return (or "TNR"), spaying and neutering outdoor cats is one of the most impactful ways to reduce the number of homeless kittens. Unowned and unaltered cats (tame or feral) are the most significant contributors to the overpopulation of cats. Female cats can breed as early as 4 or 5 months old and can birth as many as three litters a year, causing rapid population growth in a small group of cats. Without human intervention, these homeless kittens are at higher risk of starvation, predation, disease, infection, and death. Sterilizing both females and males stems reproduction, improves the health and happiness of the cats, reduces the likelihood that new cats will move into the same area, and relieves friction between cats and their human and non-human neighbors.
To catch and sterilize cats that are not socialized to humans, APL loans humane live traps and demonstrates how to use them. TNR volunteers set traps in targeted locations and observe the traps for successful catches. As cats are trapped, they are taken to APL’s spay/neuter clinic, where they're fixed, vaccinated, ear tipped, and treated for ear mites. The cats return home the following day. This is a great opportunity to improve the lives of cats while the trappers enjoy a chat, have a coffee, or just relax while waiting for cats to enter the traps.
Maybe you have a talent APL can use
If you have an idea for skill that you’d like to use for the benefit of animals, contact us at
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